* World oil demand to fall at fastest rate since 1981-IEA
* OPEC compliance with supply cuts slipping - IEA
* U.S. jobless claims rise more than expected
(Updates prices)
By David Sheppard
LONDON, May 14 (Reuters) - Oil fell slightly below $58 a
barrel on Thursday after the International Energy Agency (IEA)
forecast global oil consumption will fall this year at the
fastest rate since 1981, though gains on Wall Street tempered
oil's losses.
The Paris-based IEA, adviser to 28 industrialised nations
on energy policy, said the rise in oil prices to a six-month
high above $60 this week was due to sentiment rather than
supply and demand fundamentals, with consumption set to fall by
2.56 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2009.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration and OPEC also
cut their forecasts for energy demand in recent days.
"The IEA report comes after the DOE and OPEC versions this
month, which might lessen its impact, but it tells the same
story as the others," said Tim Evans, energy analyst, Citi
Futures Perspective, New York. "Demand is falling short of
expectations."
U.S. crude <CLc1> fell 18 cents to $57.84 a barrel at 1745
GMT, having hit $60 a barrel on Tuesday. London Brent <LCOc1>
fell 74 cents to $56.60.
The agency said oil demand is expected to average 83.2
million bpd in 2009, down from its previous forecast of 83.4
million bpd. Crude stockpiles in developed countries have risen
to the highest level since 1993 due to the global recession.
"The report is commensurate with the depth of economic
contraction we are currently experiencing," said Harry
Tchilingruian, senior oil analyst at BNP Paribas.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
(OPEC), which has announced 4.2 million bpd of production cuts
since September in a bid to tighten the market, also pumped
more oil last month than in March, the IEA said.
OPEC members' compliance with production quotas has fallen
to 78 percent in April from 83 percent a month earlier. The
producer group next meets on May 28.
NIGERIA UNREST
Top OPEC exporter Saudi Arabia shares the view that prices
have moved ahead of the economy, the Saudi-owned al-Hayat
newspaper reported on Thursday, citing French sources after the
French economy minister met Saudi King Abdullah and his Oil
Minister on Sunday. []
Equity markets were higher on Thursday despite weekly U.S.
employment data showing a larger-than-expected rise in the
number of workers filing new claims for jobless benefits.
[]
Oil prices have tracked equities markets closely in recent
months as traders looked for signs of an economic recovery that
could lift ailing world fuel demand. A rally in stock markets
this year has helped lift crude prices almost 80 percent from a
January low of $32.70.
Unrest in Nigeria, Africa's biggest oil producer, provided
some support for oil prices.
Nigeria's main militant group on Wednesday ordered oil
workers in Africa's biggest oil producer to leave the delta
within 24 hours following heavy clashes between MEND and
security forces.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND)
on Thursday gave oil companies an additional 48 hours to
evacuate their staff, but threatened to attack helicopters and
planes after the deadline. []
A security source working in the oil industry said it was
taking the threat seriously, but there were no plans to
evacuate staff.
(Editing by Jim Marshall)
(Additional reporting by Chua Baizhen in Singapore, Richard
Valdmanis in New York)
